I neither own nor claim any rights to How To Train Your Dragon...

The Diary of Oscar Rodgers
October 16 – 18, 2014

October 16, 2014

It's the second day after I woke up in Berk. I had strange dreams last night. I only remember snatches of them, and it's more like still snapshots. Nothing to make any sense of, and yet I have this feeling that the dreams hold a connection to who I am. I used to joke about amnesia being a lame plot tool in television drama, and here I am suffering from it.

I just realized that I have no idea how I remembered that. Maybe the amnesia is wearing off. Or maybe it's like other things I seem to know, though I don't know how I know them. It's confusing, even to me.

…

Gothi and Gobber visited me a few minutes ago. She wrote and he translated that I am free to leave the hut, and that I can walk around the village if I want to. Boy, do I ever want to. They suggest that I get an escort to actually show me around, and to the guest house I'll be staying at. I am thinking about asking Astrid to do it. It's got nothing to do with her being a pretty girl. I mean, she is pretty, but she seems to be a no-nonsense kind of person, and she may be able to shed some light on the others I met yesterday. I listened to her and Hiccup bantering back and forth, and her bluntness was refreshing. That's what I need right now... Bluntness and clarity.

…

It's been a few hours since my last entry. I'd put a time on them, but I don't have a watch, and I am not too keen on trying to find a sundial every time I want to write something. So I'll just stick to putting three dots between separate entries on the same day, as I have been doing so far.

Astrid agreed to escort me around the village to help me learn my way around. I was right about her. She's got this strong-willed personality that would make even the most manly of Viking men walk on egg shells around her. And boy does she ever have a temper. I found that out when I voiced my observation about Hiccup being small and weak for an heir to the chiefdom. She rounded on me, grabbed the collar of my shirt and rared back as if to hit me. Those crystal blue eyes had turned to blue fire. I've never feared for my life before. I did at that moment. She backed down when I explained that it was just an observation, and that I simply didn't understand things. The fire left her eyes and she nodded

She told me Hiccup's story. How he had been an outcast among the people of Berk. Always getting in the way. Always causing trouble with the contraptions he designed. How he was obsessed with wanting to kill dragons. Then she told me of how he had shot down a Night Fury, which she said was one of the most deadly dragons in the known world. Hiccup had formed a bond with that dragon, fashioned a prosthetic tail fin, and learned to ride it through the skies. And just like most of the Vikings I had met, the dragon was given a crazy name: Toothless.

She dreamily told me about how she flew with him on Toothless for the first time, and even though she was originally dead-set against even trying to see things from Hiccup's perspective, riding on a dragon and seeing everything from the air gave her a new perspective of her own, and it so happened that she began seeing Hiccup eye-to-eye. Yes, he was a weakling by Viking standards. Yes, he was accident prone. But any man who could tame the deadliest of dragons and ride it was far stronger than the strongest of Vikings that had lived for the last three hundred years, in a way that had nothing to do with muscles. None of them had accomplished what Hiccup had. She told me that when she realized this, she had hugged Hiccup from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder. She said he had become worth more to her than all the treasure in all the world.

She told me about how Stoick the Vast, after learning about his son's friendship with the people's worst enemy, had chained Toothless up on a ship, using him as a guide to what she called Dragon Island, where the dragons' nest was. She and Hiccup had seen the place already and knew the terrible truth which Stoick refused to listen to: That the dragons who had been raiding Berk for so long were doing so under the control of what the Vikings had come to call a Red Death, going out and bringing back food to feed the thing. If they didn't bring enough food, they became the food.

I found myself slack-jawed as she related to me how Hiccup led her and the other young people I had met yesterday on dragon-back to save the day on Dragon Island. She told me how Hiccup and Toothless lured the Red Death into the sky, fought it, and ultimately brought it down. She told me that this was how Hiccup had lost his lower left leg and foot. He had done what a Viking should do: Kill a dragon in defense of the people, and he came out with an awesome battle scar as a result. Of course, she stressed the fact that the Red Death was the last dragon that needed to be killed in the war with dragons that had lasted for three centuries. Without its control, the dragons became almost docile. Oh they were still wild and dangerous, but they were intelligent and sensitive. Free to live their own lives, they chose to simply eat fish and sleep under the sky. Their intelligence and sensitivity led them to come to Berk and actually begin helping the Vikings to rebuild the town and to help it thrive and prosper.

All because Hiccup wouldn't kill one of the deadliest of dragons when he had a chance.

I no longer think of Hiccup as weak. While he may not have the typical Viking physique that one might expect a chief to need, he has a sharp mind, and he has dragon muscle. And he clearly has good leadership skills that only needed the right conditions to be awakened. Berk would benefit from Hiccup's wisdom as it has been benefiting from Stoick's strength. As they say, you should never judge a book by its cover.

But who are they, and when did I hear them say it. Blasted amnesia!

October 17, 2014

This morning, I woke up in the guest house that is to be my place of residence while I am here in Berk. It is sparsely furnished, but functional and comfortable. Astrid told me that it was once used by Tarina of Nartara who married one of Berk's dragon riders and is now the Chief of Nartara. She mentioned something about a battle of succession which turned into a battle of liberation. I figure I'll ask Fishlegs about that next time I get a chance. After all, he seems to be a walking encyclopedia concerning history as it relates to dragons.

Anyway, the guest house is nice. I have no idea what I used to do before I woke up in Berk. But now that I am here, having been nursed back to health by these good people, I feel a need to reciprocate. If I see Stoick the Vast today, I'll ask him if there is anything I can do to help out and earn my keep.

Time to head to the great hall to see if there is breakfast.

…

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. After breakfast, I wandered around the village and made myself familiar with where all the paths lead, I noticed people watching me with suspicion. I am not really surprised. After all, I am an outsider here. I take no offense. I figure that once they get used to me, and assuming I can prove myself to be productive or at the very least helpful, their concerns will be allayed.

It was amazing to actually walk along the streets with dragons. They are nothing like the old childhood stories I somehow seem to remember. They aren't vicious killers. They wander about Berk just like its Viking citizens. And they look at me with suspicion as well.

My exploration of Berk was interrupted only by my need for lunch and dinner. I am totally exhausted. Tomorrow, I am going to go to the dragon training academy and see how they do things there, and maybe get a look at this Toothless.

October 18, 2014

It rained today. And I mean torrential downpour rain. And boy was it cold. The days can be beautiful and clear here, with a warmth that contradicts the constant winter-like conditions. I mean it isn't the sort of weather that would make you want to run around half-naked, but it is pleasant enough that you appreciate it all the more on days like today.

My plans to visit the academy were dashed, so I spent most of the day just resting in the guest house.

Part of me is going stir-crazy from not being able to get home and back to work. But the other part of me can't seem to be bothered. After all, I don't even know what work I do back home. I don't know where home even is, and right now there's no way to leave Berk anyway.

…

I fell asleep listening to the rain on the roof. I woke up from another one of those dreams. Again, all I have are flashes of memory from it. Again, those flashes make no sense. Something about sitting inside a box in front of a computer screen looking at numbers. If that is what I do back home, then maybe it's a good thing I'm stuck here. The rain has at least slacked off, so I am going to go to the great hall to find some lunch

…

Lunch was good. Baked chicken with potatoes and some turnip greens. I listened to Vikings swapping stories about their day-to-day routine, and making comments about how boring their lives were. I couldn't he;p but think that if they only knew what my life was like, they would probably consider theirs to be an adventure.

They shut up when Stoick the Vast came in. I waited until he got his food and sat down before I went over to see if he had a moment. He motioned for me to have a seat, so I did. I told him how appreciative I was of the efforts to help me recover and to find my bearings, and that I wanted to repay the people of Berk for the hospitality. He asked if I knew anything about farming, fishing, smithing or dragon training. Of course I didn't and I told him so. But I was quick to add that I was willing to learn from whomever might be willing to apprentice me. He said he would bring it up at the next town hall meeting, and that in the meantime, I should just enjoy what Berk had to offer.

I am sure there will be hard work ahead, but for now I will take the Chief's advice. Of course, my idea of enjoying what Berk has to offer involves learning as much about Berk as possible, so when the work does come along, I'll have an understanding of how it all fits into the big picture.

…

After I got back to my guest house, it started raining again, and didn't let up until late afternoon. Too late to get in any productive exploration before dinner time. I did manage to read a significant amount of a book called "A History of Dragon Training by Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III" which detailed, among other things, how Hiccup first bonded with his dragon. There was another book also written by Hiccup concerning the mating practices of dragons. I skimmed through it and saw detailed drawings of dragons, ranging from them guarding unhatched eggs, caring for newly-hatched baby dragons, and one of two dragons of the same species, in free-fall, locked together in what at a glance might have been combat, but the expressions on the reptilian faces, with eyes closed, were that of total bliss. If the writing is as captivating as the pictures, it should prove to be an interesting read.

Well all that reading has made me tired, so I'll call it a night.